Indigenous commons

It is estimated that there are more than 370 million indigenous people across 70 countries worldwide. They retain social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct to other societies. Indigenous people can be defined as those people who inhabited a country or a geographical region at the time when dominant people from other countries, cultures or ethnic origins conquered, occupied or settled their country. Indigenous societies share the following common characteristics:

Resolve to maintain and manage their ancestral domains and systems as distinctive peoples and communities.

The Indigenous commons

Indigenous Peoples use unique languages and transfer knowledge, customs, traditions and laws from one generation to the next verbally. They are experienced in the sustainable management of natural resources because they are forestry and land dependent, for sustaining themselves. Their Ancestral Domains are for the benefit of the common collective and their cultural survival. Indigenous People maintain traditional values, visions, needs and priorities which are often distinct from Western societies. They have much in common with poor landowners farmers and those living in poverty in that, they lack sufficient political representation and participation, they suffer from economic marginalisation and social exclusion. They often lack access to social services and experience discrimination. They share common difficulties in obtaining opportunities, employment, education and social services; more often that no, due to distance and ease of access.

Indigenous People in the Philippines

There are around 11.5 million Indigenous people in the Philippines. Those living below the poverty threshold are estimated as 26% of the Philippines population. The CPRSX Climate Change Action Plan TMappears to be the only existing, viable and durable project which can open new pathways to eliminate poverty. The plan will advance the local socio economic outlook through new and novel forms of employment and commercial opportunities. It advances climate change adaptation through education and training in areas of farming, food production, soil detoxification, Pyrolysis and BioChar, afforestation, carbon sequestration and climate change adaptation. The solutions are super simple ‘on paper‘ but complex and expensive to implement.

Harnessing the power of Indigenous Peoples

The Philippines’ total land area is around 30 million hectares with around 7 million hectares of forest land. The IP’s are among the poorest and most disadvantaged. Most live below the poverty line due to marginalisation, exclusion, insecure land tenure, lack of access to learning and technology and degraded resources. Indigenous people make up about 10-15 percent of the population, yet occupy and care for an estimated 17 percent of Ancestral Domain land areas. Therefore, they are the custodians of the most important forests and environmental resources. In other words, they are the custodians of carbon sequestration ‘warehouses’ and ‘oxygen factories’. Yet, they are forced to permit logging and mining, to obtain meagre incomes.

Indigenous People harvest forests only for that which they need to survive; by fishing, hunting, shifting agriculture, gathering of wild forest products / herbs and medicines and food. Indigenous People in different countries do not share the same traditions, customs and spiritual beliefs but they do share a common bond and respect for forests and wildlife.Some tribes continue to perform hunting ceremonies to ask the animal spirits for permission to kill animals for food. They also share common environmental protection and forestry management principles; such as never taking more from the forest than is needed. They see themselves as inseparably linked to the land, the forest and everything in it including trees, plants, rivers, water, animals, rocks and mountains.

Their knowledge, customs, traditions and environmental management principles have been handed down since time immemorial from one generation to the next. Indigenous societies have customary laws which regulate their behaviour and interaction with each other, with other tribes and with the environment. Their customary laws were not and could not be documented because they could not read and write. Tribal elders and chieftains passed the knowledge on from one generation to the next, by word of mouth.

The historical conflicts which arose through countries occupying or conquering other countries (for example the Spanish and American occupation of the Philippines) created confusion for Filipino Indigenous People. The occupiers brought with them foreign laws traditions and customs, which were in conflict to those of the Filipino Indigenous Peoples.Foreign occupation and advancing civilisation marginalises remote living IP’s and tribes, thus keeping them in poverty. However they are ready, willing and able to adapt to urbanisation, modern technology and climate change while maintaining their traditions and identity; they only need the appropriate opportunity.

Climate change is the most serious challenge facing humanity. Three important challenges are to almost double food production by 2050 to sustain increasing populations, to adapt and build resilience to a changing environment and to mitigate atmospheric pollution. Overcoming the effects of climate change and population growth is exacerbated by the inalienable right of future generations; to thrive on earth’s resources. The outlook for these rights are rapidly eroding and CPRSX believes that the key drivers’ for successfully advancing the Sustainable Development goals, are available in the Philippines through its land and human assets, and a very strong political will.

CPRSX and its Indigenous JV Partners are ready to implement, if circumstances permit, what is ostensibly the world’s largest and most extensive Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, commercial enterprise which can completely eradicate food insecurity; for this and incalculable future generations. The by products include substantial carbon emissions mitigation. This project is called the CPRSX Climate Change Action Plan™. It has taken over 8 years to develop, document and establish the chain of Joint Venture Partners and committed supporters in the Philippines, Australia and elsewhere. The Philippines and its societies have the unrecognized resources, assets and the motivation to implement the entire CPRSX Climate Change Action Plan™ more easily and rapidly than in any other country.

The implementation costs for the CPRSX Climate Change Action Plan™ are extremely high, at around USD 111 million however, the implementations costs are offset by the wide variety of income streams, nutritional food security, carbon emissions mitigation, chemical free soil detoxification and regeneration, afforestation, environmental and agricultural tourism and socio economic gains.

Poverty elimination and climate change adaptation are the outcomes

There can only be excellent outcomes because the Indigenous People are ready, willing and able to adapt and in common, they are excited to work with CPRSX. There are no discernible benefits for any person or country, in delaying implementation or reducing the size and extent of the CPRSX Climate Change Action Plan™.